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We, robots, will look after you

THEY look like a cross between ET and a vacuum cleaner, but two new robots from Japan are intended to show how droids could help look after the country’s rapidly growing population of elderly people.

With Japan’s population growth hovering around zero, the average age of its citizens is rising quickly. So electronics firms are stepping up their efforts to help people function at home while their children are out at work. Options range from intelligent houses (New Scientist, 15 May 2004, p 22) to companion robots.